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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Imagemaking by California Institute of the Arts

4.5
stars
2,826 ratings

About the Course

This course for serious makers, and for students new to imagemaking. Imagemaking is a fluid and exciting area of graphic design that comes out of practice and process: experimenting fearlessly, showing and sharing ideas, and giving and receiving knowledgeable and constructive input. For the sake of this online platform, we have applied some structure to our investigations, but for the most part imagemaking is loose and unstructured. If we must adopt a rule in this course it is only this: you will not become a graphic designer by watching videos alone. Or, don't just make stuff just in your head. So here, the focus here is on making, and you are expected to devote serious time and intellectual energy to that activity in this course. Specifically, you will: - experiment with a range of materials and techniques to make images for graphic design - expand your visual vocabulary both in terms of making and talking about work, in order to discuss your work and work of others - learn how to make, manipulate and arrange images to create compositions, eventually culminating in the design and production of an-image-based book. The first half of the course is an opportunity to experiment and explore imagemaking in order to expand your visual vocabulary. You will create pieces that are expressive, meditative, or 'design-y' to instigate, evoke, experiment, record, explain, or try out a media. In the second two weeks, we’ll invite the images to deliberately and intentionally carry meaning and communication through relational moves like juxtaposition, composition, and context. We’ll look at developing and expanding the range of approaches for putting things together by composing page spreads with your images. Since nothing exists without context, we look at how to intentionally drive the image’s connotations, meanings, and associations generated through elements of composition and “visual contrasts.” Ultimately, we will take the images that you create and make a book from them. The results of your assignments (and experiments) may generate something completely unknowable now or in the future—and that's the goal....

Top reviews

LC

Oct 8, 2017

I'm so happy i did this course. Gail, you're amazing and you made my imagination go wild with just your words. I can see you love your craft and that's very inspiring. Enjoyed this course all the way!

TA

May 22, 2023

In fact i am very much glad for this because before taking this course, i know nothing about Indesign but i can now use it and more, Thank you for this financial aid opportunities, Blessings coursera

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626 - 633 of 633 Reviews for Introduction to Imagemaking

By Claudia B

•

Oct 26, 2023

To be honest, this course was one of the most challenging online experiences I've encountered, not due to its difficulty, but because of its repetitive and monotonous nature. I don't mean to sound impolite, but I found the professor's delivery to be somewhat monotone. Additionally, it seemed that the course content could have been more succinctly conveyed in just a few videos. I was also hoping for more up-to-date information on graphic design, as the course predominantly covered early 2000s to 2017 topics.

By Disha S

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Jan 8, 2021

I have already enrolled and paid for this course but I am not able to take classes. I had to take a break due to some reasons and it was not mentioned anywhere that I had to complete the course in a particular period of time. My money is really important to me and also I really wanted to take the classes. I would request coursera to look into this problem. I really want to continue this course.

Please help!

( Also, coursera has no email address, contact no. or any other medium to complain on. )

By Eva R

•

Mar 16, 2022

I am sorry to say, but this was very poor. All the negative comments are completely true, I thought it can't be that bad, but it was. I was grinding my teeth to finish it. The lectures were putting me to sleep (literally!), I did not feel inspired or creative at all. The assignments were so unclear, the grading was even worse - who wants to answer so many philosophical questions and spend 30mins grading each work?

By Lili C

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Apr 13, 2016

I thought this course would be more fun and interesting but I find it VERY repetitive with the Fundamentals of Graphic Design. If you buy the package it kind of seems like I wasted $79 dollars on a repetitive and monotone professor and course. I would not recommend this course within the specialization.

By Jelena B

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Aug 25, 2020

Very disappointed that after 14 days I still didn't get the answer from mentors regarding the problem I had with peer review. For 45 euros per month there should be more than just pre recorded videos.

By Donna K

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Jan 17, 2022

Nothing in this class is explained, I learned more from Youtube than this course

By Joao M

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Aug 18, 2021

Extremelly disappointed!

By Martina G

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Feb 11, 2021

My assignment is blocked